Book of Love
by IronAmerica
Summary: Dana's not the type for princess weddings. Doesn't mean Vince can't try.


It's a new story! Vince is sneaky and underhanded, and Dana secretly loves him for it.

Un-beta'ed, so quibble away.

- o – o -

Book of Love

Dana Thompson wasn't the type for frothy princess dresses, or a big production over anything. She was a lot more sedate than that. She'd have been perfectly happy with a white pantsuit, her sister and best friend from college as witnesses, and a Justice of the Peace to oversee the quick ceremony.

Her darling fiancé, on the other hand…

Eli still couldn't understand just _why_ she'd started dating a romantic nut like Vince. He'd been all for checking Dana for drugs with every test he could think of. (That had stopped when Dana threatened not to invite him to the wedding.) Kathleen had wondered what had attracted Vince to a hardnose like her baby sister—especially one who had a…certain _reputation_ in legal circles. (Eli and Dana were young, fairly green lawyers, but they were scary. And good at what they did.)

Vince was…romantic. He wanted Dana to be his princess, and not just for one day. Thankfully, he was willing to admit that Dana was a queen—and would be quite happy to refer to her as such _after_ the wedding. Dana and Eli were alright with that—Eli had even written up the contract for them that made sure Vince would do so.

Unfortunately, that had just walked Dana right into Vince's cleverly disguised trap. It also proved exactly why Dana had fallen in love with the military officer in the first place: He was clever enough to get what he wanted via dirty, underhanded sneaky tricks. If Dana was going to be his queen after the wedding, she _had_ to go through with the princess stuff. Including the frothy white dress and bouquet of roses.

The lawyer had given up trying to convince him otherwise. He'd pointed out that it would have caused a breach of contract, which would have broken off the engagement in the process. That proved he hadn't actually been sleeping through Dana's lectures on law and how it related to real life. Dana was actually…

She was impressed.

Her future husband wasn't as stupid as his dopey good looks made him out to be. Under the beautiful face of the man who had been her arm candy at one point was a surprisingly clever mind. Vince was turning out to be a better match than Dana had thought. (Kathleen had wondered aloud, several times, just why her baby sister had even taken up with Vince. It had taken a while, but Dana had admitted that she thought he was funny. And he was good at reminding her that she was still human and could have fun.)

Vince's wishes for the wedding went through. Dana still wasn't sure where her future husband had gotten the money for the wedding on a captain's salary…until she met his team. That explained a lot. She wasn't so sure she liked his friends, although they _did_ seem like the kind of people she represented—if they were a _lot_ poorer, of course. The Jackals were an odd bunch. It was easy to see where her fiancé had gotten his sense of humor from…

Dana had spent weeks in dress fittings, looking through wedding catalogues, and figuring out prenuptial agreements that both parties could agree to. She also updated her will. Eli wrote a speech that was (for whatever reason) entirely in limericks. (If the Jackals had anything to do with that, she'd bury them in litigation for the rest of their natural lives. She was sure she could dig up _something_ to hit them with.) Kathleen had fun finding dresses in violet and yellow. Dana's parents were happy that their little girl was settling down with someone sensible _and_ romantic. Vince's parents were just happy he was getting married and wasn't trying to be a perpetual bachelor for the rest of his life.

By the end of the third month of their engagement, Dana was about ready to brain Vince with her law books and find something else to do. He was obsessive about minute details. She was sure that was a good thing when he was planning military operations or whatever he'd done for the military, but having her wedding micromanaged was beginning to drive her crazy. At least Vince was a good enough cook to make up for it…

When Vince finally backed off and let Dana have a breather, the lawyer looked over the excessively detailed plans he'd made. Somehow, he'd arranged the honeymoon she'd thought of having when she'd been younger (a _lot_ younger)—before she'd become a lawyer and had decided that crushing her opponents in the courtroom was a lot more fun. She had to forgive her fiancé for the micromanaging after that—he was sweet, and he _was_ trying. (Eli did her a favor and looked into Vince's medical history, after she complained about the nitpicking over every detail. Dana was disappointed to learn that there was no record of him being OCD, or even a perfectionist. He just liked the little details. And his comic books.)

Dana did have to admit, though, that the wedding was spectacular. She hadn't wanted a princess wedding, but…

She had to admit that she loved every last second of it. The frothy white dress was her favorite part, even though she'd never admit it. Her father said she looked gorgeous in the dress. Vince's smile when he'd finally seen her had been wide enough to split his face in half, and Dana had secretly been afraid his face was going to freeze like that—or break.

Vince was nothing but a perfect gentleman. His best man—Marty, who kind of gave Dana the creeps, for whatever reason—got a good kick from Vince after he tried to convince him to smash the cake in Dana's face. (Dana was secretly gleeful to learn that the Jackals had dragged Marty outside for…_corrective_ lessons on how to treat their commanding officer's bride on her wedding day. That included not directing the commanding officer on what to do. Marty was fine. The tuxedo… Well, it had looked terrible on him anyways.)

Dana even let her darling, loveable, sneaky husband carry her out of the reception to the limo that took them to the airport.

Because she really did want to be treated like a princess on her wedding day.

- o – o -

So, what did you think? Good? Bad? Are there enough squishy feelings here for the happy couple, or too few? Drop a line and let me know.

Minor note: This is, technically speaking, a crossover with _Eli Stone_. It's about eleven years before the premiere of _The Cape_, and about seven before _Eli Stone _aired.


End file.
